Archive for September, 2010
Fewer Car Shoppers Are Late With Loan Payments
Posted on 01. Sep, 2010 by admin.
U.S. car shoppers appear to be getting back on track with their car loans.
There has been a 19.7% drop in past due payments in the first half of this year, according to TransUnion, a credit bureau that tracks the national 60-day delinquency rate for auto loans. TransUnion defines delinquency as being past due on a car loan for more than 60 days.
Average auto debt rose to $12,643 from $12,501, a 1.13% increase. A rise in loan amounts is one reflection of lenders increased wiliness to lend. Auto originations increased by 18.7%, which is the largest increase in new loans since the recession began in 2007, TransUnion found.
These changes have a lot to do with the continuing strengthening of the U.S. economy, which expanded by 1.6% in the second quarter.
Year over year, late payments have dropped nationally by 27.4%, the largest decline since summer 2001, according to TransUnion.
It’s important to note that delinquency in auto financing is very low already, with only 0.53% of auto loans being 60 days behind. In comparison, the U.S. mortgage delinquency rate stood at 9.85% in the second quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
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Cars.com Reviews the 2011 Lincoln MKT
Posted on 01. Sep, 2010 by admin.
Now in its second model year, the 2011 Lincoln MKT is still pretty much as good as it gets in the eyes of Cars.com senior editor David Thomas. Despite a somewhat compromised driving position for taller drivers, a third-row seat that’s usable only for children and an interior that doesn’t quite match its Acura or Buick competitors, David still sees how some, including himself, could love the MKT’s eccentricities. Continue reading to see if the MKT’s unconventional nature will work for you.
2011 Lincoln MKT Review
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Aston Martin Cygnet Minicar Coming To U.S. By 2012
Posted on 01. Sep, 2010 by admin.
Love it or loathe it but Aston Martin’s Cygnet luxury minicar based on the Toyota iQ is here to stay. For whatever reasons Aston Martin deemed it necessary to build such a model, be it emissions regulations, demand from brand loyalists for an urban commuter, or a desperate grab for new customers, the new Cygnet is coming, even to the U.S…
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Spy Shots: 2011 Bentley Continental GT, Reveal Coming September 7
Posted on 01. Sep, 2010 by admin.
The Bentley Continental GT has been around since 2003 and since that time there have been very little changes made to the luxurious grand tourer lineup. That won’t be true for much longer as these latest spy shots indicate. Bentley is working on a facelift for its 2011 model year Continental GT, a prototype of which is pictured here. Changes…
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Dyno Test: Ford 6.7-liter Power Stroke V-8 Diesel Before Factory Power Update
Posted on 01. Sep, 2010 by admin.
This week, Ford is expected to release a free power upgrade for the all-new 6.7-liter Power Stroke V-8 diesel that’s available in the 2011 F-Series Super Duty. The boost will come through an update to the engine’s software, raising power levels to a best-in-class 400 horsepower and 800 pounds-feet of torque.
That’s an increase of 10 hp and 65 pounds-feet and over the initial “Job 1″ 390-hp (@ 2,800-rpm), 735 pounds-feet version (@ 1,600-rpm) of the engine that was announced in February.
“Job 2″ trucks are already leaving the factory in Kentucky with the new power settings, Ford spokeswoman Anne Marie Gattari said Tuesday.
We’re testing a 2011 Ford F-350 King Ranch with the 6.7 that was built before the upgrade was available on the assembly line. Later this week, we plan to visit a Ford dealer to have the pickup’s engine control unit flashed with the new software. It should be available at Ford dealers nationwide by Friday.
Before then, we paid a visit to our friends at Gale Banks Engineering in Azusa, Calif., to borrow time on their chassis dynamometer to empirically measure the horsepower and torque curves of the 6.7.
Instead of measuring output using a standard sweep acceleration test — like you might on a Dynojet dyno — Banks tested using a steady state step test on a Mustang dyno.
We started at high rpm with the diesel powertrain at full operating temperature, loaded the engine for a minute, then dropped it in 200-rpm increments, where we measured performance again and repeated, to as low as it would go – approximately 2,000 rpm, when the torque converter would no longer stay locked.
With the transmission in fourth gear (1.15 transmission gear ratio), maximum torque was measured at 598.2 pounds-feet, and horsepower peaked at 305.4 hp. Both measurements were made at the rear wheels instead of at the crank, which is about 20 percent below Ford’s official figures.
Banks’ staff adjusted the results according to SAE weather correction factors for horsepower and torque measurements for the tested environmental conditions: 77 degrees, 29.5 inches barometric pressure and 52 percent humidity.
A 15 to 20 percent power loss from the crank to the rear wheels due to friction and rotational parasitic forces is a fair number to use, gauging the relative difference between claimed and dynoed numbers.
Overall, our dyno numbers also track very closely with the power curves that Ford provided to us earlier this year. It should be noted that we saw a slight but consistent drop in engine output between 2,400-rpm and 2,800 rpm during three separate dyno runs. We’re not sure of the cause. It could be from the exhaust gas recirculation system, which is used to help reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by cooling combustion temperatures.
We also used the dyno to measure zero to 60 mph time, which came in at 9.05 seconds.
Stay tuned later this week for a second run on the dyno, after updating the engine’s software.
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2011 Ford Explorer Will Join Taurus On Police Duty
Posted on 01. Sep, 2010 by admin.
The last couple of months have seen three different police vehicle concepts unveiled by each of the domestic automakers: the Chevrolet Caprice Police Detective PPV from GM, the new Dodge Charger Pursuit from Chrysler and the Taurus Interceptor from Ford. Now, the Blue Oval has unveiled a second Police Interceptor vehicle based on the latest 2011…
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2011 Ford Mustang DUB Edition Upgrade Priced From $3,699
Posted on 01. Sep, 2010 by admin.
Pony car fans might not think the love of the Mustang is a generational thing, but Ford apparently does, and it is targeting the new DUB Edition 2011 Mustang directly at younger urban drivers. The car, a collaboration between DUB, Ford and Roush, combines Roush and DUB appearance features for a more aggressive look. The 2011 Ford Mustang V-6 DUB…
